Nevermore will you say you haven’t seen what John Cusack looks like as legendary master of horror, Edgar Allen Poe. The High Fidelity actor is currently in Budapest shooting The Raven with director James McTeigue, who directed V for Vendetta. In the film, Poe goes on a search for a murderer who is mimicking crimes from his works. Check out the full body shot and more info about the film after the jump. Read More »

John Cusack will have company in The Raven, V For Vendetta director James McTeigue‘s fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life, but Jeremy Renner won’t be taking part. His schedule wouldn’t allow it, sadly, as he’s going to be off shooting the fourth Mission: Impossible. Stepping in for Renner is Luke Evans, a British actor who will fill the role of “a detective who partners with Poe (Cusack) to search for a serial killer who has kidnapped the author’s fiance and has gone on a murders spree that mimics the author’s work”.

Evans is a newcomer to Hollywood, but he’s had no trouble finding work. In a single year, he’s been cast as one of the titular musketeers in Paul W.S. Anderson’s 3D action-adventure adaptation of The Three Musketeers, as the thunder god Zeus in Tarsem’s Immortals, and alongside Jason Statham in the London-set serial killer thrillerBlitz. Best case scenario: he’s an acting talent to be reckoned with, and filmmakers can’t resist his talent. Worst case scenario: the studios have found their next Sam Worthington.

After the break, Edgar Allan Poe gets a fiance, and Jim Carrey gets some financial support. Read More »

Wachowski siblings protege and V For Vendetta director James McTeigue has been planning to direct The Raven for the past year, and at one point had Jeremy Renner and Ewan McGregor both in talks for roles (perhaps the same role?) in the film. We don’t know what happened with Mcgregor, while Renner is obviously going to be quite busy, between The Avengers, Mission: Impossible 4 (we’ll keep using that title for now) and possibly Paul Thomas Anderson’s project The Master.

But John Cusack has some free time, and today the actor said he’s confirmed to play Edgar Allan Poe in the film by McTeigue. Read More »

The way that short films have been able to lead to feature deals with studios in the past year is rather stunning. The success of Neill Blomkamp, who went from the short Alive in Joburg to the smash success of District 9, helped pave the way for development deals for the filmmakers behind The Gift, Panic Attack and Pixels, among others.

Ricardo de Montreuil‘s six minute sci-fi short film The Raven hit the web this week and has been making noise around Hollywood.

The film tells the story of Chris Black, who “possesses a power that could lead to the destruction of the current regime, and they will stop at nothing to destroy him. The chase is on as Chris runs for his life in this sci-fi thriller set in an alternate and futuristic Los Angeles.” The film was shot on the RED Camera, shot in downtown Los Angeles, and completed for only $5,000.

Some people are even making comparisons to Neill Blomkamp’s Alive in Joburg, and that is one of the film’s problems — it seems to borrow a lot from that short, the feature film it spawned – District 9, as well as Robocop, Minority Report and other sci-fi classics. It looks great, was made on the cheap, but it doesn’t present any real new and different/interesting ideas. Don’t get me wrong, it looks cool, which is why I’m posting it. Watch it now, embedded after the jump.Read More »

Today I had the opportunity to talk with Ninja Assassin and V For Vendetta director James McTeigue. The full interview won’t be ready until later this week. For now, I thought I’d pass along some of the juicy news tidbits about some of his upcoming projects.

As many of you know, McTeigue started in Hollywood as a second assistant director on films like Dark City, and made a name for himself as the first assistant director on The Matrix films. He famously took the reigns from The Wachowski Brothers, directing big screen adaptation of Alan Moore’s comic book V For Vendetta (currently ranked #178 on IMDb’s top 250 of all time). His latest film, Ninja Assassin, hits theaters on November 25th. I caught a sneak preview screening during Comic-Con, and while I’m barred from reviewing the movie, I will say that the action is bloody awesome and worth the price of admission alone.

What’s next for McTeigue? The filmmaker, for the first time ever, reveals details about his next project — James is currently casting a period thriller titled The Raven, a fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allan Poe‘s life. Apparently the famous writer joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories.

More details on The Raven, and an update on Altered Carbon, available after the jump.